The whole group travels quietly for a while before somebody finally gathers up the nerve to break the awkward silence, "So, where are you leading us?" Black Canary asks lightly, not wanting to sound accusing.
Kagome lets out a quiet hum to let her know that she heard her but doesn't answer quite yet. She's in the process of actively tracking a Yoki aura that's been stalking them for the last minute or so. It doesn't seem to be actively hostile though, so it's most likely just observing them. Curious and cautious. She can't blame them as her current traveling group is odd for the feudal era… and well she's basically doing the same thing to them so she can't exactly judge.
After a few more seconds of sensing the Youkai, who doesn't move any closer so she deems it safe for now, she gets around to answering her question, "Sorry, I'm keeping track of something at the moment." No need to let them know that their every move is being watched and judged by an unknown Youkai at the moment, "Right, you guys would want to know that. Sorry. This area isn't safe to camp in, we'd probably get attacked. We're heading towards a safe area to spend the night." She explains.
"Uh… what exactly might attack us? I haven't seen anything besides you two and the surrounding woods since we arrived." Green Lantern asks with a raised eyebrow. He doesn't want to argue against her, she's seemed pretty cool in the short time since he's met her, but it seems like she's talking up nothing. Like she's trying to scare them with the boogeyman or something similar. This girl is apparently Batman's one kid who isn't one of his hordes of vigilante children. What would she even deem as dangerous or not?
Kagome has to hold back a groan while Shippo starts giggling, "They remind me of you when you first started coming here, Mama." He giggles out as he gives them humor-filled looks.
Kagome has to remind herself that the League doesn't know anything of Youkai or any of the other dangers of the feudal era. Kami, is this what she was like when she fell down the well? Probably, which is absolutely cringeworthy. Next time she sees Sango and Miroku she'll have to apologize for her ignorant behavior.
"This area isn't claimed by any Youkai or any tribes at the moment. Unclaimed land is dangerous to be in for any length of time. Just passing through is fine, but any longer and the people vying for the area will assume you are trying to stake your own claim. If we tried sleeping here the others in the area would think we're trying to set down roots without fighting for it. I would really rather not deal with mightier-than-thou Youkai attacking me while I try to sleep. The area I'm leading us to isn't too far away and it's claimed by a deer tribe. I've dealt with them before and we're friendly. They let us camp on their land with no issues, so we won't have to worry about anything during the night."
Flash raises his hand like he's still in school, "I have a question!"
Kagome snorts out a laugh, "You don't need to raise your hand Flash, what's your question?"
"What exactly are Youkai? Like I've read some stuff about Japanese mythology, but how much of it is true?"
Kagome tilts her head in thought, "That's a bit harder to explain. The closest translation in English for Youkai is Demon, but I don't like using that term since I learned about the demons from hell. Youkai and Demons are nothing alike. The best way I can describe them is to think more along the lines of nature spirits. Youkai are closely entwined with nature; animals, elements, trees, and other natural existing things. Not all Youkai are the same though, no they are all very different from each other. I've found that they mostly fall into three categories.
"First is low-level Youkai. They don't tend to have much, if any, intelligence. They run mostly on instinct, like wild animals. Those are definitely the largest quantity that exists and what most people tend to run into. Since they deal with this type of Youkai the most the general public thinks that all Youkai are like this. Which is simply wrong. These Youkai you don't need to hesitate about killing as they would sooner eat you than leave you alone and they exist in the thousands. I've had to deal with more than one horde of Youkai since I first arrived here and they are annoying, to say the least.
"Second are middle-level Youkai. They have intelligence but still seem more animalistic in nature. As in they don't appear human even if they have human-level intelligence. These first two categories are what most mythology you've probably heard about is based on. Like Oni, Yurie, and Tengu. A few good examples of this category that I'm friendly with are Kirara and Jaken. Kirara is a Nekomata, which is a two-tailed cat. She is extremely smart and can understand everything you say, but she's basically a cat in every other sense. She's usually the size of a kitten and she is unable to speak, but she without a doubt intelligent. Jaken is a type of toad Youkai. He comes up to about your knee, can walk on two feet, wears clothing, uses weapons, and can talk. Honestly getting him to shut up is usually the issue. He's annoying and opinionated, but undying loyal to his Lord. But to look at him he looks like a large toad. Kirara and Jaken are very different from each other, but they both fall into the same category for simplification.
"Finally, there is the third category, high-level Youkai. The majority of high-level Youkai have a humanoid form and an animal form. Some are born as an animal and gain a human form later, or vice versa. Shippo here won't gain an animal form until he gets his third tail. Now, just because a Youkai falls into this category doesn't always mean they are extremely powerful. The deer tribe we're heading towards on average are barely more powerful than the average human. They are a bit stronger and sturdier, but there are definitely middle-level or even lower-level Youkai that could beat them. The easiest way I've found to classify them is if they have a humanoid form then they fall into the third category.
"This isn't like an official categorization of Youkai or anything. Honestly, I don't think there actually is one. This is just what I've come up with from my own experiences here in the past four years. No Youkai I've met and talked about this with have ever outright denied my theories, so I figure that I'm close enough." She finishes up the explanation. Huh, she hadn't expected to give a lecture about Youkai. Hopefully, they all followed that.
"What is the power set of these Youkai?" Batman growls out, worry for his daughter building up in him.
Kagome lets out another hum, "Each one is different really, it's more of a learn-as-you-fight type of deal. Most Youkai that will attack you tend to have advanced strength, durability, and speed. Some have strong sharp teeth or claws. Some are venomous or can exude poison. Those are the most annoying as your options get rather limited when fighting them. It depends on what type of nature they take after as well. Some skills you'd be able to guess rather easily based on what animal they are; like snakes being venomous, birds being able to fly, cats having sharp claws, and stuff like that. But you can't always take that at face value either, some can surprise you. Take one of our main enemies, for example, Kagura. She's a wind Youkai, which means that she can control the wind; fly, wind blades, tornados. But she also has the ability to reanimate corpses and make them fight, for some reason."
"Zombies?!" Flash blurts out, eyes wide.
Simultaneous groans escape from Kagome and Shippo, "I am so tired of having to dispatch the undead." Kagome grumbles.
"They're the worst! Since even if you cut them down, they can just pull themselves back together and continue fighting. Even setting them on fire doesn't work." Shippo complains loudly.
Kagome nods in agreement, "They aren't the types of zombies that you're thinking of Flash, they aren't mindless creatures craving brains. They are dead people who are walking around through. Truthfully the fights could theoretically go on forever with how quickly they're able to pull themselves back together. The only way to make them stop is to completely destroy their bodies, which is exceptionally hard to do, or force Kagura to drop the spell and retreat."
"Why don't you just finish off this Kagura person then if she is such a threat? From what you've been saying you aren't shy about ending the lives of your enemies." Hawkgirl asks.
Annoyance flashes through her at the question, "We can't. And even if we were able to I wouldn't want to." Kagome answers determinedly.
Relief floods through Bruce at his daughter's answer. He's been trying to hold his tongue and simply gather information, not wanting to draw more attention than needed from Kagome. His daughter is smart, she was top of her class nearly all of her life. She had a little hiccup in her first year of high school where her grades dropped to the low C range, but she managed to bring it back up. Now he knows the reason for that he supposes. With how smart his daughter is he's never wanted to spend too much time around her as Batman, afraid that she might start to see the man behind the mask. And he wants so desperately to keep her out of danger. Not that he's been doing such a great job apparently. Where they currently are and what she's had to go through are testaments of that.
Honestly, when she first told him that she wanted to stay in Japan to finish her schooling his first instinct had been absolutely NOT. He didn't want his daughter, his first child, so far away from him. If she wasn't close to him how is he supposed to protect her? Then the little facts started piling up. She wanted to get out of the spotlight for a bit, to take a chance to be a normal everyday girl. Instead of the girl all of Gotham has their eyes on. She'd borrow her late stepfather's last name and disappear into plain sight within Japan. She also wanted to spend more time with her mother, something that he couldn't exactly fault her for. If he had a chance to spend time with his mother again, he'd take it. Also, that fact was that she wouldn't be kidnapped as long as nobody knew she was a Wayne, and his Rouge gallery would leave her alone. As much as it pained him to let his daughter go live on the other side of the world, it had seemed like the best option for her.
Now, within the past half an hour he's seen a side of his daughter he didn't even know existed. She speaks of death and killing so nonchalantly. Talks of life and death situations as if it were a normal day occurrence. She describes her enemies (His daughter has enemies!) similar as to some of the League's most dangerous villains and she barely even blinks. Fear had gripped his heart, thinking that his loving and kind daughter might have slipped out of his grasp. That she turned into a coldhearted killer without him even noticing. So, yes, relief fills him when he hears her deny killing this Kagura lady.
"Kagura is incapable of dying at the moment, no matter how much damage her body takes. I say she is our enemy, but she is as much a victim of Naraku as anybody else. Koga hates her because she's the one who killed most of his pack members, but even he's come around to agreeing that she's not all to blame. Naraku holds her heart hostage, so she must do his bidding. Until her heart is returned to her Kagura won't die. And if possible, I'd prefer to save her than to kill her." Kagome states.
"That is a noble thing to want, to save your enemy." Wonder Woman tells her.
Kagome turns to stare at the Amazonian, "It's not that. You have no idea what he's put her through. Kagura would turn on Naraku in an instant if given the opportunity, hell she risks moments to give us hints on occasion. I'm not a saint, I'm not doing shit for the greater good, and I'm not a noble warrior. I'm just a girl who is determined to stop an evil man. What happens between now and then happens. My hands are already dirty, would I like to keep my hands from getting even dirtier? Sure. But, I don't share the Justice League's morality code. I can't afford to."
Tense silence falls over the group and Kagome lets out a sigh, "Let's just keep moving. We're going too slow, we won't make it before dark if we keep up this pace." She tells them before picking up her walking pace and simply marches away from them. She may respect the Justice League for everything they've done in the future, but there is a reason she never brought up her issues with them. They aren't exactly willing to go the final step that is needed here in the feudal era. Hell, they'd probably spare Naraku because it's the just and noble thing to do. Turn him into the next Joker. She can't allow that. Naraku will die, or she'll die trying. That's all there is to it.
Green Arrow makes his way over to Batman and whispers to him, "Dude, your daughter is a badass." Batman quickly glares at him so he efficiently puts space and people in between him and the Dark Knight. His gaze travels back to the raven-haired girl leading them. A thought hits him, she reminds him a lot of himself from when he first escaped the Island. An innocent kid, thrown headfirst into a cruel world that forced them to grow up far too quickly.
"Are you all right, Kagome?" J'onn asks her.
"I'm as fine as I can be right now. Thanks for asking though J'onn. Could you try and keep the conversation away from me for now though? At least until we get to the campsite? I need a minute to calm down." Kagome implores him.
"I will try." He answers before turning to start a conversation with whoever is walking closest to him. Which turns out to be Superman, "What do you think of her explanation?"
"I know Kagome, I've watched her grow up. I remember the little girl who would grin and yell 'Uncle Clark' anytime I visited the Manor. While Kagome has changed since I last saw her, I know in my gut that she hasn't changed that much. Kagome is a caring and determined girl. She hates lying and isn't afraid to speak her mind even if it makes people upset with her. I can tell that she's telling the truth, and that is what worries me. What has she all been through these past four years?"
"I'd like to know how she kept it a secret from her dad." Black Canary says, glancing at Bruce who looks to be deep in thought as he stares at his daughter, "Because it is painfully obvious that he had no idea, you don't need to be a therapist to see that."
"Yeah, pretty sure that Bruce has a huge blind spot when it comes to his daughter," Flash says as he glances between the Bat and his daughter.
"She brushed over it very quickly, but what exactly was she tracking? I didn't notice her doing anything other than walking, so it must have to do with her powers. If so, is she still tracking something?" Green Arrow informs them.
"You think something is following us?" Green Lantern asks with a frown, fighting the urge to look around.
"Well, she did say this wasn't a safe area to be in." Black Canary states.
"Big Blue, can you sense anybody near us?" Flash asks Superman.
Superman frowns and glances around them, he really hasn't noticed anything out of the ordinary. If there is somebody following them, they are expertly blending in with the surrounding forest. He usually keeps his senses as dulled as possible, so as to not overwhelm himself, but he allows them to sharpen for the moment. Nothing pops out at him immediately, but after a few seconds, he hears a quick footstep that could easily be mistaken for a moving animal. His gaze shoots to Kagome just in time to see her tilt her head in the direction of the footstep, a slight frown tilts her lip. She changes her direction just enough to lead them away from where the footstep came from, but not enough to make it look like she's changing direction. To everyone who didn't hear the footstep, it probably looks like she's simply avoiding a tree or something similar. J'onn asked them to trust Kagome, and he knows deep within him that Kagome would never put them in danger. Not on purpose anyway. So, he'll follow her lead for now. If she's not saying anything to them about something, or someone, following them then he'll keep his discovery to himself. For now.
"I do not think there is anything we need to worry about at the moment." He answers Flash. Though he will be keeping his senses a bit sharper for now, it shouldn't be too bad since the feudal era is much quieter than the present day.
About twenty minutes later Kagome comes to a stop, in what seems like to the others a bit of forest no different from the other. Shippo, recognizing the area, jumps down from his Mama's back and goes to start collecting the stones they use for the campfire. They've started using this area often enough now that they stash away their campfire stones so they don't have to search around for them every time.
"This is where we are stopping? What makes this bit of forest any different from that other bit of forest?" Hawkgirl asks with a scowl.
"We left the unclaimed land a few minutes ago, we're now in the deer tribe's territory," Kagome tells them, slightly annoyed at the tone of the question.
"Do you need any help setting up camp, young warrior?" Wonder Woman asks.
Kagome has to hold back a groan at what she called her. Why can't anybody just use her name? She hides her irritation before nodding, "If you guys don't mind collecting some wood for the fire, that would be helpful."
"Kagome, if I could talk to you for a moment. I have a question." Superman tells her, a serious tone to his voice.
Kagome nods at him, "Shippo, will you get the firepit set up? I'll be right back." She gets an affirmative from him and she drops her backpack close to where the fire will be set up. She motions Superman to follow her as she walks a bit away from the camp, from the way he asked she's assuming he wants to speak to her in private. Once they are far enough away where they won't be immediately overheard she asks, "Is there something the matter, Superman?"
"There was somebody following us earlier, that is what you said you were tracking. Right? What was that?"
Understanding dawns on her, "That was a Youkai, not anybody I've met before. Most likely it's somebody who is trying to claim that land. They were simply seeing if we were a threat or not since they didn't outright attack us. They were most likely just curious. They stopped stalking us the moment we left the unclaimed land. They won't bother us."
On the edge of her passive sensing range, three very familiar Yoki signatures pop onto her radar. She can't help the smile that tilts her lips, "Let's head back to camp. The rest of my traveling party will be here soon. They'll get us enough to eat after that. They're pretty good at hunting."
They arrive back to the campsite to see it mostly set up. The fire is going and everyone is sitting around it. To her amusement, Shippo is jumping from person to person asking rapid-fire questions. She catches the suspicious glare her dad sends herself and Superman. She readily ignores him. He has no ground to stand on when it comes to keeping secrets.
She sits down by the warm fire and sighs in relief, it always feels good to get off her feet at the end of the day. Almost immediately Shippo jumps off of Green Arrow's shoulder whom he had been questioning and settles down in his mom's lap. He melts happily as she starts running her fingers through his hair. taking it out of its normal ponytail and detangling it. Kagome sends Green Arrow an apologetic look for her son's clinginess. He waves her concern away.
"There will be three people arriving very shortly, please do not be alarmed," Kagome informs the League members. Shippo probably already noticed Koga's arrival.
"Why would we be alarmed?" Black Canary asks with a frown.
Kagome shrugs, "They can be loud and energetic. And, since it's been a week since they split off to do something for their main pack, they'll be a bit extra excitable to see us again. The initial hug from Koga will most likely look like he's attacking me, but I assure you that he isn't. They are just very affectionate."
The moment Shippo catches Koga's quickly approaching scent he jumps off of his mom's lap and scampers over by Green Arrow and Black Canary. As excited as he is to see Koga, Ginta, and Hakkaku again he doesn't really feel like getting smushed by Koga today. He's been paying close attention to how his Mama's been reacting to these new people. So far, she seems to like these two the best, though Flash is probably a close third. He doesn't like how judgey Green Lantern is with his questions. Hawkgirl attacked his mom, he had seen that altercation from the tree. She had apologized, but then she'd also been snippy with her questions as well. So, she's on thin ice with him for now. She reminds him a bit too much like Inuyasha. Mom seems to be rather cold with Wonder Woman, but he knows that reason. She has a bit of a dislike of people not calling her by her name unless she lets them, or they are complete strangers. That, he knows, comes from all of Inuyasha's cruel name-calling. Only a few people have the okay to call her something other than her name. He obviously gets a freebie since he gets to call her Mama. Miroku gets to call her Lady Kagome and Sesshomaru calls her Miko. Those two are mostly because Mama can't get them to stop and she got tired of trying. Ginta and Hakkaku rarely call her anything other than Sister. Koga calls her nicknames of her name like Kags or Gome, though when he's being extra teasy he'll still call her My Woman to get Mama all riled up. Mama doesn't mind random civilians calling her Lady Kagome or Lady Miko, as they are strangers and it's a type of title. From the way Wonder Woman speaks she seems to have a very strict sense of honor. Which he knows will annoy his mom. They've had some bad experiences with people who have their own sense of honor that ends up screwing them over. He can't really tell his mom's attitude towards Martian Manhunter. She seems to be calm around the man, but he never sees them talk to each other. So, he's mostly neutral at the moment in his eyes.
Then there is Batman. Mama is outright cold to him, which he doesn't really understand. When she's not giving his short/clipped answers she's just ignoring his existence. It's just odd to Shippo. When she tells him stories from her home time she always has good things to say about the heroes from Gotham. She tells him all of the good that they do, even if she wishes that they'd be more final in their judgments of the lost causes. So, why is she being so cold with Gotham's night? Because that is what she calls him sometimes. Though he won't outright question his mom. He's sure that she has a good reason for acting like Sesshomaru around the man in black.
So, for now, he'll stick closer to Green Arrow, Black Canary, and the Flash when he needs to.
"Not that I mind, but what has you coming back over here kid?" Green Arrow asks. The kid has seemed excited to settle in next to his mom, so what has him leaving her side?
Shippo smirks at him, "Mama's about to be tackled and I don't feel like getting bowled over as well."
"What do you mean?" Black Canary asks, though her question is answered almost immediately.
"KAGOME!" a male voice shouts out excitedly as he appears from a literal whirlwind. He full-body tackles Kagome off of the log she's sitting on. A small shriek escapes Kagome and a few of the Leaguers start to assist her before a peal of laughter escapes her. A genuinely happy laugh.
All of the Leaguers take a good look at the new coming who is hugging Kagome tightly. He has long black hair tied up in a high ponytail. Sharp fangs are prominent from how widely he's smiling. His outfit mainly consists of brown furs. Though they easily not the chest armor and sword tied to his hip. A happily wagging tail also catches their attention.
The fact that Kagome eagerly hugs the man back settles all but Batman. For obvious reasons.
"Koga, welcome back." She looks into the forest from where he came from, "Where are the boys?" she asks in a playful judgmental tone.
"They're on their way," Koga pouts just as playfully.
A sigh escapes her, "You have got to stop leaving them behind," she teasingly scolds him.
He continues to pout at her, though he has to fight a smile, "But, I was excited to see you." He glances around to campsite, eyeing the familiar people warily. Kagome didn't have any of the tells they had discussed in the past to alert him that she was in danger, so until Kagome alerts him otherwise or they threaten any of his pack, he will stay neutral. His gaze catches onto the fox kit and he smirks at the kid, "Hey Shippo, you keep your mom safe since I left?"
"Hey," Kagome pouts
Shippo, on the other hand, puffs out his chest, "Of course I did. I even got to set a few lower-level Youkai on fire." Shippo's smile is all teeth.
"Um…" Flash starts before he gets interrupted.
"Sister!" two different voices shout before jumping into the hug pile.
A happy, loving, smile stretches Kagome's lips, "Welcome back boys."